
Qass. 


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Book. 


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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



SEVEN HUNDRED 

ALBUM VERSES, 

COMPRISING 

CHOICE SELECTIONS OF POETRY 
AND PROSE, 

SUITABLE FOR WRITING IN AUTOGRAPH ALBUMS, 

AND FOR 

VALENTINES, BIRTHDAY, CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR 
CARDS. 

ORIGINAL AND SELECTED. 



Our lives are albums written through, 

With good or ill, with false or true, 

And as the blessed angels turn the pages of our years, 

God grant that they may read the good with smiles, 

And blot the ill with tears. 



Compiled by J. S. OGILVIE, 



New York: 

J. S. OGILVIE & COMPANY, 

31 Rose Street. 



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Til 433' 



Copyright 1884, 
By 
J. S. Ogilvie & Co. 



PREFACE. 

Who among the readers of this pre- 
face has not been invited to write a few 
words of sentiment in the album of a 
friend ? As an aid to the many thou- 
sands who have received this invitation, 
and have not known what to write, we 
offer this collection of choice verse and 
prose, as an aid to them and all others, 
with the hope that our labor shall not 
have been spent in vain, nor be alto- 
gether unappreciated. Great care has 
been taken to procure as many original 
pieces as possible. Many choice verses 
suitable for Birthday, Christmas and 
New Year celebrations, have been 
added ; which, with the collection of 
articles embracing sentiment, affection, 
humor, and miscellany, is offered to a 
generous public by 

The Compiler. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE. 

Dedication Verses, 5 

Sentiment and Affection, - - 12 

Miscellaneous, 54 

Esteem and Confidence, - - - x.09 

Humorous, 114 

Birthday Verses, 118 

Christmas and New Year, - - 121 



DBDIO^TI§N YER3E? 



SUITABLE FOR INSCRIPTION ON TITLE PAGES OF 
ALBUMS. 

Within this book ne'er may there steal, 
A thought to make a fair one feel 
A single pang of heartfelt grief, 
Or slightest sorrow, e'er so brief ; 
But let each line the muse inspires 
Be filled with ardent, pure desires, 
That every good on thee may rest, 
And every blessing be possessed, 
Whate'er we ask for those we love, 
From earth below or heaven above. 
May ne'er the sigh of anguish blast 
One bright memorial of the past ; 
Or wavering doubt, or anxious fear, 
Be caused by aught recorded here. 
Let warm affection, pure and bright, 
Cast o'er each page its hallowed light. 
Thus may this album ever be 
From vice, and pride, and passion free ; 
From every grosser taint refined, 
An emblem of the stainless mind ; 
And though thy friends afar may be — 
Beyond the wide, wide rolling sea — 
O, think not they will e'er forget 
The fair one whom they here have met. 



ALBUM VERSES. 



As you have conferred on me the 
favor of dedicating your album, I feel 
myself under renewed obligation to 
present you a memento of respect and 
esteem. 

May you find many true friends who 
will interest themselves in your behalf 
and leave an expression of their attach- 
ment to you in this book — a token that 
shall endure when widely separated by 
time and space. 

Go, leafy compendium, and gather 
sweets from every flowery pen ; plume 
thy wings with richest gems, nor per- 
mit thy pages to become contaminated 
by poisonous sentiments. 

This is the earnest prayer of your 
unworthy friend. 



Go forth, thou little volume 
I leave thee to thy fate ; 

To love and friendship truly 
Thy leaves I dedicate. 

Go, little book, thy destined course 

pursue, 
Collect memorials of the just and true, 
And beg of every friend so near 
Some token of remembrance dear. 



ALBUM VERSES. 



When years elapse, 

It may, perhaps, 
Delight us to review these scraps, 
And live again 'mid scenes so gay, 
That time's rough hand has swept away; 
For when the eye, bedimmed with age, 
Shall rest upon each treasured page, 

Those pleasant hours 

That once were ours 
Shall come again, like autumn 

flowers, 
To bloom and smile upon us here 
When all things else seem sad and drear; 
'Twill tune our hearts and make them 

sing, 
And turn our autumn into spring ! 

As life flows on from day to day, 

And this, your book, soon fills, 
How many may be far away 

From treasured vales and hills ? 
But there is joy in future time 

To turn the pages o'er, 
And see within a name or rhyme 

From one you'll see no more. 

Go forth, thou little volume, 
Like Noah's faithful dove, 

And bring to darling 

An olive leaf of love. 



ALBUM VERSES. 



My album's open ! Come and see ! 
What ! Won't you waste a line on me? 
Write but a thought, a word or two, 
That memory may revert to you. 



Go, album! range the gay parterre ; 

From gem to gem, from flower to 
flower. 
Select with taste and cull with care, 
And bring your offering, fresh and rare, 

To this sweet maiden's bower! 



To My Friends: 

My album is a garden spot 

Where all my friends may sow, 
Where thorns and thistles flourish not, 

But flowers alone may grow. 
With smiles for sunshine, tears for 

showers, 
I'll water, watch and guard these flowers. 

Life is a volume, 

From youth to old age, 
Each year forms a chapter, 

Each day is a page. 
May none be more charming, 

More womanly (manly) true, 
Than that, pure and noble, 

Sketched yearly by you. 



ALBUM VERSES. 



Many kind wishes will be written here, 

And none more sincere than mine. 

But— 

Words are lighter than the cloud-foam 

Of the restless ocean's spray; 
Vainer than the trembling shadows 

That the next hour steals away. 
By the fall of summer raindrops 

Is the air as deeply stirred, 
And the roseleaf that we tread on 

Will outlive a word. 



We may write our names in albums, 

We may trace them in the sand, 
We may chisel them in marble, 

With a firm and skillful hand; 
But the pages soon are sullied, 

Soon each name will fade away ; 
Every monument will crumble, 

Like all earthly hopes, decay. 
But, dear friend, there is an album, 

Full of leaves of snowy white, 
Where no name is ever tarnished, 

But forever pure and bright. 
In that Book of Life, God's Album, 

May your name be penned with care; 
And may all who do here write, 

Have their names forever there. 



ALBUM VERSES. 



Go little volume, like the bee, 

The fertile fields of mind explore, 
Cull from each mental shrub and tree 

Some grateful sweets to swell thy 
store. 
Go, and in friendship's hallowed name, 

Where'ere thy wanderings may be, 
A tribute fond from feeling claim, 

A few brief lines for Memory. 



Go, little book. Bring the best 
wishes of happiness to the fair owner 
of this memorial of friendship ; and 
gather the brightest gems of Virtue, 
Esteem and Love from the fairy fields 
of a bright future. 

Fly, little volume, to the mount where 
Hope's bright star ever glitters above 
the horizon and colors those flowers of 
friendship that fade not ; but, ever 
filled with the dews of affection, scat- 
ters its sweet influence around the path- 
way of our dear friend when the lower- 
ing- clouds and storms of affliction hover 
o'er her dwelling to make her discon- 
solate, and her home a place of sorrow. 
Then wilt thou, as a soul cheering 
spirit, console the fair owner of this 



ALBUM VERSES. 



Album, who will greet thee with smiles, 
and shake thy dewy plumes of esteem, 
and spread before her those many 
gems that thou hast gathered from the 
fields of Adieux. May she not feel 
deserted and alone ; but, surrounded by 
many friends that will ever wish her 
happiness and a pathway flower strewn. 



CAST ON THE WORLD. 

On friendship's realm thou art 
Spotless, tjll now unsullied yet in part. 
Go, little book, and on each page receive 
The various offerings which true friends 

may give. 
Ask not the crowd, but seek refinement's 

pen, 
Wielded by virtue, that unerring gem. 
Of parting friends some kind memorial 

keep, 
Of those who part, perhaps no more to 

meet. 



■gEN^IMEN 1 ! 1 HND HPPECTI©N^ 



Peace be around thee, wherever thou 
rovest ; 
May life be for thee one summer's day; 
And all that thou wish, and all that thou 
lovest, 
Come smilingaround thysummer way. 
If sorrow e'er this calm should break, 

May even thy tears pass off so lightly, 
Like spring showers, they will only make 
The smiles that follow shine more 
brightly. 



May the chain of friendship formed 
by the links which are dropped here, 
serve to unite you more closely in spirit 
with the friends who have worked it. 

May each link be brought to a white 
heat in the fires of Love; and, forged on 
the anvils of Truth, may they be strong 
as iron, yet light as air, keeping you 
bravely to the duties of Life. And 
when the chain of human bondage shall 
be broken, may they become flowers of 
eternal brightness in the gardens from 
whence cometh exceeding peace. 



ALBUM VERSES. 13 

Our lives are albums written through 
With good or ill — with false or true — 
And, as the blessed angels turn 

The pages of our years, 
God grant they read the good with 
smiles, 

And blot the bad with tears. 



Be a good girl and you will be a true 
woman. 



May thy darkest hours in life be well 
lighted with the sunshine of content- 
ment. 



Yours sincerely — although merely — 

How long we live, not years, but actions 

tell ; - 
That man lives twice who lives the first 

life well. 
Make then, while yet ye may, your 

God, your friend, 
Whom Christians worship, yet not 

comprehend. 
The trust that's given, guard; and to 

yourself be just; 
For, live we how we can, yet die we 

must. 



14 ALBUM VERSES. 

When the golden sun is setting, 
And your heart from care is free, 

When o'er a thousand things you're 
thinking, 
Will you sometimes think of me? 



Live well; how long or short, permit to 

heaven ; 
They who forgive most, shall be most 

forgiven. 



Soar not too high to fall,but stoop to rise; 
We masters grow of all that we despise. 



Your fate is but the common fate of all; 
Unmingled joys here to no man befall. 



Though many flowers have faded from 
my life, 
And clouds obscure the brightness of 
its sky; 
This have I learned: we can do much 
to make 
Our lives a blessing and our words a 
power, 
If what we find to do, for Christ's dear 
sake, 
We do with faithfulness, from hour to 
hour. 



ALBUM VERSES. 15 

It may occur in after life 

That you, I trust, a happy wife, 

Will former happy hours retrace, 

Recall each well-remembered face. 

At such a moment I but ask — 

I hope 'twill be a pleasant task — 

That you'll remember as a friend 

One who'll prove true e'en to the end. 



I saw two clouds at morning, 

Tinged by the morning sun, 
And in the dawn they floated on 

And mingled into one; 
I thought that morning cloud was blest, 
It moved so sweetly to the west, 
Such be your gentle motion, 
Till life's last pulse shall beat, 
And you float on in joy to meet 
A calmer sea, where storms shall cease — 
A purer sky, where all is peace. 



When on this page you chance to look, 
Just think of me and close the book. 



These few lines to you are tendered, 
By a friend sincere and true ; 

Hoping but to be remembered 
When I'm far away from you. 



16 ALBUM VERSES. 

Work, while yet the daylight shines, 
With a loving heart and true, 

For golden years are fleeting by, 
And we are passing, too. 

Wait not for to-morrows sun 

To beam upon thy way, 
For all that thou canst call thine own, 

Is in this one to-day. 

Then learn to make the most of life — 
Make glad each passing day — 

For time will never bring thee back 
The chances swept away. 

Leave no tender word unsaid — 
Do good while life shall last ; — 

You know the mill can never grind 
With the water that is past. 

Let not the hours we've spent together, 

Go past as nothing by ; 
Forget me not, e'en though you must 

Remember with a sigh. 



We are all placed here to do some- 
thing. It is for us, and not for others, 
to find out what that something is, and 
then, with all the energy of which we 
are capable, honestly and prayerfully to 
be about our business. 



ALBUM VERSES. 17 

May the memories of your life be 
those which hands of love shall gild 
with pleasures of true friendship. 

" Poor is the friendless master of a 
world. A world in purchase for a 
friend, is gain." 



Let excellency of character, purity of 
mind, together with generous words and 
noble deeds, mark conspicuously your 
whole life, not omitting to learn to 
eat, in order that your physical powers 
may be strong and healthy ; thereby 
strengthening and elevating the mental 
and intellectual. 



I have tried for a week, and vainly I 
seek 
Words of wisdom to write to you here; 
So, wishing you life free from sorrow 
and strife, 
Nor wanting in friends and good cheer, 
With health — perhaps wealth — 
Love better than self, 
And Truth, far the best, to the end ; 
Since content it maintains 
While existence remains, 
I subscribe myself, Truly, your friend. 



18 ALBUM VERSES. 

In fair and sunny beauty, or gray 'neath 

evening skies, 
The purple hills from misty vales up- 
ward to heaven rise : 
Their ruofsred side we scarce can see 

o'er-decked with fern and heather, 
That rings its scented violet bells 

through fair and stormy weather ; 
So may thy life be clothed with flowers, 

and breathe a purer air, 
Fresh from the ''everlasting hills," 

knowing no grief or care, — 
And if the sunny sky must pale, as pales 

the setting sun, 
May it only show the stars are near, 

peeping out, one by one ! 



I would that I could express my mind 
To you, dear friend, in scribbling some 

rhyme ; 
But you know my failing as well as I, 
And you better get another to try. 



Oh ? think of me some day 
When I am far away ; 
I'll pray thy days be long 
And joyous as the song 
Of sweet birds singing near, 
Thy heart with love to cheer. 






ALBUM VERSES. 19 

So slight a favor 'tis you crave, 

That I can scarce refuse compliance ; 

Nor shall I use the page you gave, 
To set your champions at defiance. 

Dear lady, vainly awed, I praise 

That dimpled hand I pressed at 
parting ; 

Or those dark eyes, beneath whose gaze 
A cupid lurks equipped for darting. 

Nor can I hope to lightly touch 

On charms so oft the theme of lovers ; 

To add another, while so much 
That beautiful about thee hovers. 

I can but add one little pearl 

To all the gems about thee scattered ; 
And say again, sweet, artless girl, 

That all thy poets have not flattered. 

I would not blot this page, but I 
would like to make a spot large enough 
to hold you to remembrance of your 
friend. 



Thanksgiving-day again is here, 

And turkey is the leading question ; 

I wish, with heartiness sincere, 

That you may have a good digestion. 



ALBUM VERSES. 



May joy thy spirit fill, 

All care and sorrow cease ; 

Remember 'tis His will 

Who hath spoken, " Peace f 



Strength for to-day, in house and home, 
To practice forbearance sweetly ; 

To scatter kind words and loving deeds, 
Still trusting in God completely. 



A volume of this kind, it is suppos- 
able, will be more or less frequently 
referred to in future years, to revive 
fading recollections and recall pleasant 
associations ; and, therefore, though it is 
so easy to moralize, it seems eminently 
fitting that helpful suggestions should 
accompany familiar autographs. 

Let me say, then, that while in your 
youth a favorable combination of circum- 
stances permits so much of happiness, 
the conditions of its enjoyment cannot 
always remain as now. 

As the responsibilities, at present 
borne for you, shall come to rest on 
your own shoulders, and the darker 
shades of life's history are unfolded, you 
will find the peace, which floweth like a 
river, only in the degree in which you 



ALBUM VERSES. 21 

resolutely perform every known duty ; 
and, forgetting your own wants — 
whether fancied or real — devote your 
thoughts, as well as your energies, to 
making the society in which you move 
happier for your being. 

That you may indulge in no selfish 
ease ; but bestow, as well as enjoy, a 
full share of the pleasures of time, and 
afterward receive a crown of glory, is 
the earnest wish of your friend — 



The brave man is not he who feels 
no fear, for that were brutish and irra- 
tional ; but he whose noble soul its fears 
subdues, and bravely dares the danger 
nature shrinks from. 



Keep thy spirit pure from worldly taint 
By the repellent strength of virtue ; 
Think on noble thoughts and deeds 

ever ; 
Count o'er the rosary of truth ; 
And practice precepts which are proven 

wise 
It matters not then what thou fearest — 
Walk boldly and wisely in the light 

thou hast ; 
There is a hand above will help thee on. 



ALBUM VERSES. 



From the rising of the sun unto the 
going down of the same, my name shall 
be writ among your dearest friends. 

Every man stamps his value on 
himself. The price we challenge for 
ourselves is given us. Man is made 
great or little by his own will. 

Possessions vanish, 

And opinions change, 

And passion holds a fluctuating seat ; 

But, subject neither to eclipse nor wane, 

Duty remains. 

Happy be thy lot in life, 
Troubles scarcely known, 

Much of joy, but little strife, 
And plenty all thine own. 



The older the ruin, the greener the 

moss. 
The older the friendship, the keener the 

loss. 



That one who can work right on, 
quietly waiting for recognition, if it 
come : if not, yet right on, is the true 
nobleman. 



ALBUM VERSES. 23 

Dost thou know, love, that thy smile 
Makes the whole world briorht forme 

Just as sunrise pours a sudden 
Purple glory on the sea. 

Ah ! had I that power, ever 

Should the world look bright to thee. 



I know not what to write about, 
So many themes are pressing ; 

All good enough in very truth, 
But quite unprepossessing : 

Each moment of thy future life, 

Live holy, whether maid or wife. 

And let it be thy constant care, 
Midst earthly joy and sorrow, 

By watchfulness and fervent prayer, 
Each this day and to-morrow, 

To be prepared when Christ shall come, 

His heaven to make thy final home. 



Diamond little dewdrops, glistening 
in the sun, 

We dwell upon your beauty even 
when you're gone; 

Pure, unselfish motives, deeds of kind- 
ness done, 

Shine as bright as dewdrops glistening 
in the sun. 



24 ALBUM VERSES. 

Woman is especially honored of God. 
The world of affections is her world, 
not that of man's ambition ; in that 
stillness which most becomes a woman, 
calm and holy, she sitteth by the fire- 
side of the heart feeding its flames. 

Oh, those eyes ! so calm, serene — 
Sweetest eyes were ever seen. 
Will the woes of coming years 
Ever shadow them with tears ? 
Shall my life the sunshine own, 
That last night upon me shone, 
When, beneath the summer skies, 
Beamed on me those brown, brown eyes? 



Speed slowly and gently, oh Time, in 

thy flight, 
Let thy bounties be great and thy 

afflictions light. 
Deal out full measure from thy store of 

wealth, 
Give peace and plenty, success and 

good health. 

Do your best, your very best, 

And do it every day; 
Little boys and little girls 

That is the wisest way. 



ALBUM VERSES. 2$ 

As you travel over life's rough high- 
way, with liberal hand may you scatter 
seeds of kindness as you go, that when 
the great reaping time comes, your har- 
vest may he abundant and blessed. 

The bud, the flower, the fruit — how- 
beautiful each in their own time. The 
change from one to the other so quiet 
and perfect, the last the fruition of the 
first. 



God give you many days, and may 
your whole life be spotless and pure, 
giving beauty through all the changes > 
even when the leaf has turned brown 
and the fruit has ripened. 

If we could see ourselves as others 
see us, how often we would have taken 
the other road. 



Loveliness needs not the aid of for- 
eign adornment. 



Do all the good you can, 
To all the people you can, 
In all the ways you can, 
Just as long as you can. 



26 ALBUM VERSES. 

To persevere in one's duty and be 
silent, is the best answer to calumny. 

Get but the truth once uttered, and 'tis 
like 
A star new-born, that drops into its 
place, 
And which, once circling in its placid 
sound, 
Not all the tumult of the earth can 
shake. 



Thanks to the human heart by which 
we live, 
Thanks to its tenderness, its joys and 
fears ; 
To me the meanest flower that blows 
can give 
Thoughts that do often lie too deep 
for tears. 



True friends are like diamonds, 

Precious but rare. 
False ones like Autumn leaves, 

Found everywhere. 



Remember there is no spot in the 
universe to which you can retreat from 
your influence upon others. 



ALBUM VERSES. 27 

Love thyself last ; cherish those hearts 

that hate thee ; 
Corruption wins not more than honesty. 
Still in thy right hand carry gentle 

peace, 
To silence envious tongues. Be just, 

and fear not. 
Let all the ends thou aim'st at be thy 

country's, 

Thy God's, and truth's. 

Worlds may pass away and perish, 

Every feeling die away, 
But the constant love I cherish, 

Never shall decay. 

No. Rest is not quitting 

This busy career; 
Rest is the fitting 

Of self to its sphere. 

It is the brook's motive 
All clear without strife; 

'Tis fleeting to ocean, 
Beyond this brief life. 

'Tis loving and serving 

The highest and best; 
'Tis onward, unswerving, 

And this is true rest. 



28 ALBUM VERSES. 

Long on thy cheeks may roses bloom, 
And all the charms which health be- 
speak; 

But longer still thy gentle breast, 
Be ever Virtue's lovely seat. 



I write these simple lines for thee, 
Whene'er you see them think of me. 



There is a plant that never dies, 

'Tis not of earth, but Heaven; 
'Tis tinged with pure celestial dyes, 
Its odors wafted to the skies 

By breeze a tempest driven. 
'Tis not a tender fragile thing, 

It strengthens in the storm, 
And midst the dreary waste 

It stands, a soul inspiring form. 
'Tis thine, Friendship, thine. 

No rubies on the Indian shore 
Outshine thy noble mind; 

Its radiance far exceeds them all, 
And blesses human kind. 

A heart of heavenly purity 
Is laid within thy breast; 

And ever for the weary soul, 
It breathes some tone of rest. 



ALBUM VERSES. 29 

May it be your pleasure to cultivate 
those virtues which so gracefully adorn 
the character of a true woman and 
serves as a beacon light to those who 
are beneath and weaker than you. 



Life is the bright dream of youth 
and the reality of age. 

If we only do all the good we can, 
Though our ways lie far asunder, 

If our souls grow purer and our lives 
more grand, 
We shall surely meet up yonder. 

I most sincerely wish that you 

May have many friends, and who, 

No matter what you are passing 

through, 
Will stick as close as good strong glue. 

Life's a jest and all things show it, 

I thought so once, and now I know it. 



He who complies against his will 
Is of his own opinion still. 



On the battlefield of life 
May you more than victor be. 



30 ALBUM VERSES. 

While God's blessings are being show- 
ered so freely upon humanity 
May a goodly portion fall on thee. 

On the last leaf I write my name, 
And though the last, still may it claim 

The tribute of a thought. 
After more worthy friends receive 
The attention you to each would give, 

I pray forget me not. 

The spirit which you possess is from 
above — pure, gentle, and kind. May it 
always be watered from above and re- 
freshed by the gentle streams which flow 
from that fountain proceeding from the 
throne of God. 

And as the waters, rivers and stream- 
lets run into the ocean, and centre there, 
to swell the unfathomable depths, so 
may the fruits of thy spirit run, and 
centre in God. 

Be careful of it for it will sweeten 
life's bitterest cup. 



As you travel through life, scatter 
kind words and gentle deeds ; in so do- 
ing, you will enrich your soul. With- 
hold them, and it tends to poverty. 



ALBUM VERSES. 3* 

These little souvenirs possess not 
their greatest value when first written ; 
but as time, with scythe in hand, passes 
along, and we are left standing, we are 
not the same, but these lines remain. 
Some, to cheer the saddened by awak- 
ening slumbering memories of better 
things ; and others serving as guide- 
boards on the road to eternity. 



May your life be like the day — more 
beautiful in the evening ; like the sum- 
mer — aglow with promise ; and, like the 
autumn, rich with the golden sheaves, 
where good works and deeds have 
ripened on the field. 

Let the road be rough and dreary, 
And its end far out of sight ; 

Foot it bravely — strong or weary ; — 
Trust in God, and do the right. 



Life is but a day at best, 
Sprung from night — in darkness lost ; 
Hope not sunshine every hour; 
Fear not — clouds will always lower. 



Know how sublime a thing it is 
To suffer and be strong. 



32 ALBUM VERSES. 

Will one wandering thought of thine 

Rest its rapid flight on me? 
Or to forgetfulness consign 

The friend that loves to think of thee. 
Ah ! sure thy fancy oft will dwell 

On scenes which once were dear to 
thee, 
And when these lines you chance to 
read, 

You smiling will remember me. 



Press on ! our life is not a dream — 
Though often such its mazes seem. 
We were not born to live at ease — 
Ourselves alone to aid and please. 
To each a daily task is given : 
A labor that shall fit for heaven, 
When duty calls — let love grow warm, 
Amid the sunshine or the storm, 
With faith — life's trials boldly breast, 
Then come a conqueror to thy rest. 



Meanness shun, and all its train; 
Goodness seek, and life is gain. 

If I wake, or if I sleep, 

Still the memory I keep 

Of the tender light that lies 

In the depths of those brown eyes. 



ALBUM VERSES. 33 

Be blessings scattered o'er thy way, 

My gladsome, joyous, laughing sprite; 
Be thy whole life one summer's day 
Without the night. 



Trust not the world: It hath a smile 

And sunny garniture of bloom, 
Which charms the eye a little while, 

And bids the soul forget the tomb ; 
The pomp and pageantry it wears 

To lure the spirit from its God, 
Are crossed by doubt and dimmed by 
care 

And scourged by stern affliction's rod. 



Oft as thine eye shall fondly trace 

These simple lines I sketch for thee, 
Whate'er the time, where'er the place, 
O think of me. 

When pleasure sparkles in thine eye, 
And every scene is fair to see, 

When swift away the moments fly, 
O then remember me. 



Whate'er may be my future lot in 
life- -or dark or bright — sweet thoughts 
of thee will come as welcome guests 
with each revolving hour ; and as I 



34 ALBUM VERSES. 

trace on memory's tablet the impression 
fair of thine untiring care, thy watch- 
ful love, thy kind forbearance to an- 
other's faults, my heart will yearn for 
thee, and for the tried affection. 



If ever love's fondest prayer brought 
blessings from on high, thou shait be 
blessed. Friend ! farewell ! To him 
on whom thy cheerful hope relies, 
whose arm sustains thee, and whose 
promise soothes — my faith commends 
thee — may'st thou still receive grace 
for grace, and love for love ; and guid- 
ance through this wilderness of tears ! 
till thou possess thy Crown of Life. 

On this leaf, in memory prest, 
May my name forever rest 



On this page I'll write, 

Simply to indite 

My name as your friend. 

But well thou play'd'st the housewife's 

part, 
And all thy threads with magic art 
Have wound themselves about this 

heart. 



ALBUM VERSES. 35 

Cling to those who cling to you, 

In the end there'd be but precious few 

When they are tried and true ; 

So cling to those who cling to you. 



Dear girl, I will write in thy book one 

line, 
'Tis only to show you my friendship is 

thine ; 
As long as my heart in my bosom shall 

beat, 
The throb of pure friendship for thee 

'twill repeat. 



Farewell ; how oft that sound of sad- 
ness, 

Like thorns of sorrow pierce the heart, 
And hush the harp tones of its gladness, 

And tear the bleeding chords apart. 

Farewell ! and if by distance parted 
We see each others face no more, 

Ah ! may we with the faithful-hearted 
Meet beyond this parting shore. 



Hours are golden links, God's token, 
Reaching heaven but one by one, 

Take them lest the charm be broken 
Ere the pilgrimage be done. 



35 ALBUM VERSES. 

Be content with thy lot, 
Though it may be small, 

Each must have their share, 
One cannot have it all. 



Industry is fortune's right hand, 
And frugality its companion. 

And thou, too, whosoe'er thou art, 
That readest this brief psalm, 

As one by one thy hopes depart, 
Be resolute and calm. 



May your coffee and slanders against 
you be ever the same — without grounds. 



May thy life happy be, 
Is my dear wish for thee. 



It never pays to fret and growl 

When fortune seems our foe, 
The better bred will push ahead 

And strike the braver blow; 
For luck is work, 
And those who shirk 

Should not lament their doom, 
But yield the play, 
And clear the way, 

That better men have room. 






ALBUM VERSES. 37 

All the paths of faith, tho' severed wide, 
O'er which the feet of prayerful rever- 
ence pass, 
Meet at the gate of Paradise at last. 



Desire not to live long, but well ; 
How long we live, not years, but 
actions, tell. 



A beautiful life ends not in death. 
Friendship above all ties doth bind the 

heart, 
And faith in friendship is the noblest 

part. 



There is a bright and precious gem, 

Lovely to behold ; 
Tis seldom seen, and mostly when 

We feel we are growing old. 

Contentment is that little gem, 

And if you have it not, 
Take and cherish it, and then 

Happy be thy lot. 



As hope is the anchor of the soul, so 
he is wise that is honest. 



Scorn to do a mean action. 



38 ALBUM VERSES. 

The sweetest pleasures are the soon- 
est gone. Do nothing without design. 



Age and youth both have their dreams. 
Youth looks at the possible, age at the 
probable. 



You will profit much by learning the 
luxury of doing good. 



As perfume is to the rose, so is good 
nature to the lovely. 



Oh, never can we know how dear 

Each loved one is, till we have known 

The deep regret, the bitter tear, 

That comes when those loved ones 
are gone. 



Useful and steady may thy life proceed, 

Mild every word, 
Good-natured every deed. 

Never with one thou lovest contend, 

But bear a thousand frailties 
From your friend. 



Remember me is all I ask, 
And, if remembrance be a task, 
Forget me. 



ALBUM VERSES. 39 

Farewell! perhaps forever, 

Beloved one adieu! 

Wilt thou this token please to take, 

And keep it long for friendship's sake; 

And when these lines you chance to see, 

Remember, that they came from me. 

Round went the autograph; hither it 

came, 
For me to write in; so here's my 

name. 



Old friends and true friends! 
Don't talk to me of new friends; 

The old are the best, 

Who stand the test, 
Who book their name as through 

friends. 



We meet and part — the world is wide; 
We journey onward side by side 
A little while, and then again 
Our paths diverge. A little pain — 
A silent yearning of the heart 
For what has grown of life a part; 
A shadow passing o'er the sun, 
Then gone, and light again has come. 
We meet and part, and then forget; 
And life holds blessings for us yet. 



4 o 



ALBUM VERSES. 



When things don't go to suit you, 
And the world seems upside down, 

Don't waste your time in fretting, 
But drive away the frown.. 



Passing through life's field of action, 
Lest we part before its end, 

Take within your modest volume, 
This memento from a friend, 



It never pays to wreck the health 

In drudging after gain; 
And he is sold who thinks that gold 
The cheapest bought with pain 

An humble lot, 

A cosey cot, 
Have tempted even kings; 

For station High, 

That wealth will buy, 
Not oft contentment brings. 



The world is full of fools, 

And he who would none view. 

Must shut himself in a cave, 
And break his mirror, too. 



Friendship, thou gift of heavenly birth 

Misused, nay more profaned on 

earth, 



ALBUM VERSES. 41 

Methinks long years have flown, 

And, sitting in her old arm-chair, 
has older grown. 

With silver sprinkled in her hair, 
Her album thus she holds, 

And turns its many pages o'er, 
And wonders if it still contains 

The memories of yore. 
As o'er these pages thus she runs, 

With many a sigh and kiss, 
Then suddenly she stops and says, 

"Who could have written this ?" 



-, life is all before you, 



Stretched out in its misty sheen, 
And the future, though now hidden, 

Holds much joy for thee, I ween, 
Why, then, seek to know what's coming, 

It is forming day by day, 
But your heart, in blind out-reaching, 

Makes to-morrow of to-day. 

"Life is real — life is earnest; 

And the heroine in the strife 
Is the one who leaves the future — 

Living but the present life — 
Lives it truly, nobly, grandly, 

Thus prepares for coming fate, 
Strives to make her living perfect; — 

Learns to labor and to wait. 



42 ALBUM VERSES. 

The violet is for faithfulness, 
Which in me shall abide; 

Hoping, likewise, from your heart, 
You will not let it slide. 



This is thine album. May it be 

A source of happiness to thee. 

And may each page that's written o'er, 

Be better than the one before. 



Perform your duties without fear, 
Will make your pathway bright and 
clear; 

Falter, stop, and leave undone, 
Will make it like the clouded sun. 



Some folks are constantly wishing, 
I could never get much for a. wish, 

But should you ever go a fishing, 

May your net be will filled with fish. 

Happiness: a phantom all are seek- 
ing, few can find. 

On this page of your album I scribble, 
Now, remember, no critic must see, 

But once in awhile peep at it yourself, 
Then remember 'twas scribbled by 
me. 



ALBUM VERSES. 43 

May you always have a full share, 
With a surplus on the shelf, 

And ever be ready to share 

With those who have less than 
yourself. 



In this world of change and sorrow, 
when shall we meet again ? 

May you always have enough and 

plenty for each day, 
May you never have enough to waste 

or throw away, 
May you live long enough your debts 

to pay, 
May you never live so long as to be in 

other people's way. 



If I should make a wish for you it 
would be this: I wish you a large share 
of success in your pursuit of happiness ; 
may your efforts in the direction of 
right bring abundant reward. I would 
not wish your pathway to be over flow- 
ers only ; God made the rose and thorn 
to go together; let us not separate them, 
but with you may the roses be many 
and the thorns few. 



*4 ALBUM VERSES. 

The little bee so silently 

Gathers honey from the flower, 
So may you as quietly 

Find pleasure in each hour. 



May your life be as bright as the stars 

of the night, 
And of the sun whose light always 

dazzles the sight ; 
May you never lose sight, sure as black 

is not white, 
Of the fact that the right will always 

make might. 



Twilight lets the curtain down, 
And pins it with a star. 



'Tis beauty that doth make woman 

proud, 
'Tis virtue that doth make her most 

admired, 
'Tis modesty that makes her seem 

divine. 



As sunshine and rain, pleasure and 
pain, 

Each day on some must fall, 
So the wise thing to do, if we only knew, 

Is to make the best of it all. 



ALBUM VERSES. 45 

One long sweet spring be thine 
With buds still bursting forth, 
Fresh blossoms every hour, 
And verdure fair and new. 
Peace be thy gentle guest, 
Peace, holy and divine, 
God's blessed sunlight still 
Upon thy pathway shine. 



How gay and how happy, how charm- 
ing and fair 

Are these sweet little songsters that fly 
through the air; 

With sweet rolling carols they glide 
in their glee, 

Whatever their lot, they are happy and 
free. 

May your life be as theirs, ever happy 
and bright, 

With a heart and a face to shed sun- 
shine and light ; 

When with one you shall meet — fondest 
joy of your life, 

You should love him and make him a 
happy, good wife. 



Whoever thinks a faultless piece to see, 
Thinks what ne'er was, nor is, nor ne'er 
can be. 



4^ ALBUM VERSES. 

Shall I tell you of an evening 

When the snow lay on the ground, 
When the wintry wind was silent, 

And the sky with stars was crowned? 
When the parlor looked so pleasant, 

And the world to me sg-bright, 
As we sat together dreaming 

In the flick'ring firelight? 

Nay, I will not, for it may be 

That your own heart longeth sore 
For the olden time caresses 

From the one who comes no more ; 
For, perhaps, you have your sorrow 

Buried deep within your breast ; 
And, perhaps, you have your moments 

When your spirit cries for rest. 



'Tis sweet to be remembered. 



I n the course of our reading we should 
lay up in our minds a store of goodly 
thoughts in well-wrought words, which 
shall be a living treasure of knowledge 
always with us, and from which, at 
various times, and amidst all the shift- 
ing circumstances, we might be sure of 
drawing some comfort, guidance and 
sympathy. 



ALBUM VERSES. 47 



Joy's opening buds, affection's glowing 
flowers, 
Once lightly sprang within thy beam- 
ing track. 
O ! life was beautiful in those lost 
hours ! 
And yet you cannot wish to wander 
back; 
Nay ! thou may'st love in loneliness to 
think 
On pleasures past, though never mare 
to be; 
Hope links thee to the future, but the 
link 
That binds thee to the past is memory. 

Sweet is the hour that brings us home, 
Where all will spring to meet us, 

Whose hands are striving as we come 
To be the first to greet us. 

When the world has spent its frowns 
And wrath, 

And cares are sorely pressing, 
'Tis sweet to turn from our roving path, 

And find a fireside blessing. 

Keep to the right as you are passing 
along, giving your neighbor full half 
of the road. 



48 ALBUM VERSES. 

Bright sunny hope, thy radiant beam 
Smiles sweetly on life's troubled dream. 



May humble hope your portion be, 
'Till launched into eternity. 



Like the unsullied little dew-drop, 

Shining brightly in the sun, 
With heaven's brightest colors, 

Softly blending into one, 
A pure and spotless woman 

Man's love has always won ; 
The blending of her virtues 

Is a diamond in the sun. 



Dear , at thy wish I write, 

And in this book some thought indite, 
I scarce know what — a wish sincere 
Some lonely moment of thine to cheer, 
May every lasting joy be thine, 
Refulgent virtue round thee shine. 
Wilt thou revere the winding road 
Which leads beyond to a bright abode, 
That when thy journeys here are o'er, 
Will meet again on the eternal shore. 



Worthy to love, fondly to devote our- 
selves to the happiness of another who 



ALBUM VERSES. 49 

deserves our highest regard, is not 
condemned by religion; it is not even a 
weakness which it permits or deplores, 
but a virtue which it sanctions and com- 
mends. 

The heart that is deceived or be- 
trayed need not augment its anguish 
by self-reproach. 

Love is not an innocent but a noble 
passion. When guided by principle it 
is the gem of all social virtues — the 
cement and solace of the virtuous rela- 
tions of the human life. 

When rewarded with the hallowed 
possession of its object, it strews the 
path of duty with flowers, but when un- 
fortunate and ill-requited, it becomes so, 
absorbed in high and holy principles, 
investing resignation with unwonted 
sublimity, and extracting from earthly 
disappointment the calmer satisfaction 
of heavenly hope. The process by 
which it is thus transformed may im- 
pair the frail tenement which enshrines 
it; and the dross of mortality, in such a 
furnace, may melt away into its kindred 
earth. But the unrobed spirit returns 
to God who gave it, and at last enjoys 
repose where it first derived existence. 



SO ALBUM VERSES. 

That every kindly wish and tho'^at, 
By friends expressed within these 
pages, 

Be yours, and trials commou ta us all, 
May cross your path by "easy stages," 

Remember me when far away, 

And only half awake; 
Remember me on your wedding day, 

And send a slice of cake. 



When worth and beauty prompt the 

line, 
Perhaps a pen as poor as mine 

May be forgiven 
To try and write of things divine, 

And think of heaven! 
But pause, rash verse! and don't abuse 
A bashful maiden's ear with news 

Of her own beauty! 
And yet no other theme I'll choose, 

Or think a duty! 
So, then, for fear I might offend, 
1*11 say, God bless her! — and thus end. 



is your name, 

Single is your station, 

Happy be the little man 
That makes the alteration, 



ALBUM VERSES. 51 

The earth can boast no purer tie, 

No brighter, richer gem, 
No jewel of a lovelier dye, 

Than Friendship's diadem. 

Then may this ray of light divine, 
Ne'er from our bosoms fade; 

But may it on our pathway shine, 
Till death our hearts invade, 



'Tis a terrible fate, my dear miss, 

To be asked to write in a book like this; 

For, scratch my head as hard as I may — 

I've such a skull — * 
And if I try to moralize, 

Or vent my thoughts in sentiment, 
Or attempt to laud you to the skies, 
Or spread myself on compliment, 
I'm so awful dull, 
That my efforts would prove futility; 
For the sex of your kind, are of that 
turn of mind, 
That morals, verse and flattery, 
Have to you been so oft defined, 
You are full, 
If rhyming I try, adorable Miss, 

The first I think of, is dear little Kiss. 
Or some such nonsense as connubial 
bliss, 



52 ALBUM VERSES. 

Or changing your title "Mrs." from 
"Miss;" 

But that's prosaical. 
To give you advice I'd never pre- 
sume; — 
Incompetence may be the reason for 
that; — 
To wish you long life and a blest happy 
home 
Is aged and stale, exhausted and flat, 
And excruciatingly formal. 
Now, what to do I do not know, 

Or how to make my paragraph ; 
So I'll doff my hat, and make my bow 
And send this as my autograph. 



May there be just clouds enough o'er 
your life to cause a glorious sunset. 



Thy cheerful, gentle ways, I do admire; 
Thy future to be happy I greatly 

desire ; 
Thy trusting confidence, may I require; 
Thy firm friend to be, will I aspire. 



In memory's wreath may one bud be 
entwined for me. 



ALBUM VERSES. 53 

Oh ! love is such a strange affair ; 
So strange to all. 

It cometh from above 
And lighteth like a dove 

On some. 
But some it never hits 
Unless it gives them fits. 

Oh, hum. 



As a slight token of esteem, 

Accept these lines from me ; 
So plain and simple, they do seem 
Unworthy such as thee. 
But soon these traced lines will fade 

And disappear — 'tis their doom. 
May you, unlike them, be arrayed 
In a perpetual bloom. 






54 ALBUM VERSES. 



MISCEIiLiTINEeUfr 

In times of prosperity our friends are 

many, 
But the time of adversity tries and 

proves them. 



Gems of price are deeply hidden, 
'Neath the rugged rocks concealed; 

What would ne'er come forth unbidden, 
To thy search may be revealed. 



If recollections of friends brighten 
moments of sadness, 
What a fund of delight is here treas- 
ured for thee ! 
If advice and kind wishes bring good- 
ness and gladness, 
How perfect and happy thy future 
must be. 



May e'en thy failings lean to virtue's 
side. 



ALBUM VERSES. 55 

While the fading flowers of pleasure, 
Spring spontaneous from the soil ; 

Thou wilt find the harvest's treasure 
Yields alone to patient toil 



The tissues of the Life to be — 
We weave with colors all our own, 

And in the field of Destiny, 
We reap as we have sown. 



There is seldom a line of glory writ- 
ten upon earth's face, but a line of 
suffering runs parallel with it ; and they 
that read the lustrous syllables of the 
one, and stoop not to decipher the 
spotted and worn inscription of the 
other, get the least half of the lesson 
that earth has to give. 



How beautiful your book, from end 

to end, 
And every page a room to lodge a 

friend ; 
Fain would I enter with a seemly grace, 
Attired and mannered as befits the 

place ; 
But best endeavor falls below the aim 
And rests at last, content to leave a 

name. 



56 ALBUM VERSES. 

Hours are golden links — God's token — 
Reaching heaven but one by one; 
Take them, lest the chain be broken 
Ere thy pilgrimage be done. 



The brave man is not he who feels no 

fear, 
For that were stupid and irrational ; 
But he whose noble soul its fears 

subdues, 
And bravely dares the danger nature 

shrinks from. 



Fling wide the portals of your heart ! 
Make it a temple set apart 
From earthly use, for Heaven's em- 
ploy- 
Adorned with prayer and love and joy ; 
So shall your Sovereign enter in 
And new and noble life begin. 



We could count time by heart-throbs; 
he most lives who thinks most, speaks 
the noblest, acts the best. 



We ourselves shape the joys and fears 
Of which the life to come is made, 

And fill our future atmosphere 
With sunshine or with shade, 



ALBUM VERSES. 57 

When the name that I write here is 

dim on the page, 
And the leaves of your album are yellow 

with age, 
Still think of me kindly, and do not 

forget 
That, wherever I am, I remember you 

yet. 



The massive gates of circumstance 
Are turned upon the slightest hinge, 

And thus some seeming pettiest chance, 
Oft gives the life its after tinge. 

Oh, for a home in Zululand, or Arctic 

regions cold, 
A peasant's cot or hermit's hut, midst 

solitude untold, 
With Kafnrs or with Hottentots, in 

Egypt or Leone — 
*Twere bliss to live in any spot where 

albums are unknown. 



In the golden chain of friendship re- 
gard me as a link. 



Some write for pleasure, some write 

for fame, 
But I write simply to sign my name. 



58 ALBUM VERSES. 

Meanness shun and all its train ; 
Goodness seek and life is gain. 



Strive to keep the "Golden Rule," 
And learn your lessons well at school. 

Those that want friends must show 
themselves friendly. 



If you have found the "pearl of 
great price," all the bliss of heaven 
will be yours. 



Remember me when "far, far off, 
Where the woodchucks die of whooping 
cough." 



He is a coward who will not turn back, 
When first he discovers he's on the 
wrong track. 



May that love which has always ex- 
isted grow stronger. 



A little body often harbors a great 
soul. 



Yours sincerely, in the bonds of friend- 
ship. 



ALBUM VERSES. 59 



Apply thine heart unto knowledge. 
What you do, do with your might. 



Think much, speak little, write with 
care. 



Not to go back is somewhat to advance. 

Be good, do good, and you will be 
happy. 

A smooth sea never made a skillful 
mariner. 



Drop one pearl in memory's casket for 
your friend. 



A good name is rather to be chosen 
than great riches. 



Bow down thine ear, and hear the 
words of the wise. 



That ye might walk worthy of the 
Lord unto all pleasing, being beautiful 
in every good work, and increasing in 
the knowledge of God, is the wish of 
your friend. 



60 ALBUM VERSES. 

There are three lessons I would write, 
Three words as with a burning pen 

In tracings of eternal light 
Upon the hearts of friends. 

Have Hope. Though clouds environ 
now 

And gladness hides her face in scorn, 
Put thou the shadow from thy brow ; 

No night but hath its morn. 

Have Faith. Where'er thy bark is 
driven, 
The calm's disport, the tempest's 
mirth — 
Know this. God rules the hosts of 
heaven, 
The inhabitants of earth. 

Have Love ; and not alone for one, 
But man as man thy brother call, 

And scatter like the circling sun, 
Thy charities on all. 

Thus grave these lessons on thy soul: 
Hope, Faith and Love; and thou 
shalt find 

Strength when life's surges cease to roll, 
Light where thou else wert blind. 

Let your life be like a snowflake, 
which leaves a mark, but not a stain. 



ALBUM VERSES. 61 

Within this book so pure and white, 
Let none but friends presume to write ; 
And may each line with friendship given, 
Direct the reader's thoughts to heaven. 



Leaf green on ground of white, 
My name, I fain would write 
That you remember still 
In June or in December chill, 
We two are friends. 



Oh, wayward mortal who these books 

invented, 
Why wast thou not by some kind hand 

prevented ? 
And thereby kept from many a luckless 

swain, 
The direful knowledge that he lacked 

a brain — 
Lacked it, at least, where poetry was 

needed, 
Like the poor wight who here has not 

succeeded. 



The large are not the sweetest flowers ; 
The long are not the happiest hours; 
Much talk doth not much friendship 

tell; 
Few words are best — I wish you well. 



62 ALBUM VERSES. 

Through days of doubt and darkness, 
In fear and trembling breath, 

Through mists of sin and sorrow, 
In tears and grief and death ; 

Through days of light and gladness, 
Through days of love and life, 

Through smiles and joy and sunshine, 
Through days with beauty rife ; 

The Lord of life and glory, 

The king of earth and sea, 
The Lord who guarded Israel ; 

Keep watch, sweet friend, o'er thee, 






Truth — Freedom — Virtue — these have 

power ; 
If rightly cherished, to uphold, sustain, 
And bless thy spirit, in its darkest hour. 



Thy own trim, modest form, 

Is always neatly clad, 
Thou surely will make the tidiest wife 

That ever husband had. 



Among the many friends who claim 

A kind remembrance in thy heart, 
I too, would add my simple name, 
Among the rest. 



ALBUM VERSES. 63 

To knit and spin was once a girPs 

employment ; 
But now to dress and have a beau is 

all the girl's enjoyment. 



To fear no ill, to do no wrong to all 

men, to prove true — 
This is the "golden rule" of life ; let it 

be so to you. 



Is it vain in life's wide sea, 

To ask you to remember me ? 

Undoubtedly it is my lot, 

Just to be known and then — forgot. 



O no ! The heart, which is the seat 

Of love like mine, can never rove ; 
Its faithful pulse may cease to beat, 

But never — never cease to love : 
For love is past the earth's control 

And soaring as an ocean wave 
It is eternal as the soul, 

And lives and blooms beyond the 
the grave. 
It is a link of pleasure's chain, 

A never-ending token, 
Whose lustre and whose strength re- 
main, 

When all save that are broken. 



64 ALBUM VERSES. 

May God's mercy ever guide thee, 

Safe o'er all thy thorny road ; 
And His grace whate'er betide thee, 
Lead thee home to His abode. 



Begirt with roses of the royal June, 
A resurrected day swings highest morn 
In every year; and so through life I 

P ra > r 

May never failing changes, bring their 

day, 
And flames of love in swinging censers 

rise 
While all thy thoughts leads on toward 

the skies. 



, I'll write a line or two 

On this fair page for thee, 

And though I can't the rest outdo 
Yet, this must do for me. 



I cannot wish thee greater joys, 
Than others here expressed, 

But I respond with every power 
To wish thee ever blessed. 



In time we transact business for 
eternity ; whatever, therefore, we do 
now, should be done well. 






ALBUM VERSES. 65 

I'll pull a bunch of buds and flowers, 
And tie a ribbon round them, 

If you'll but think in your lonely hours 
Of the little friend who bound them. 

So here's your bunch of buds and 
flowers — 
And here's the ribbon round them, 
And here to cheer your sadder hours 
Is the little friend who bound them. 



"Forget me not" when far away 
Amidst a thoughtless world you stray 
" Forget me not" when fools would win 
Your footsteps to the paths of sin. 
" Forget me not" when urged to wrong 
By fashions and temptations strong. 
" Forget me not " when pleasure's snare 
Would keep you from the house of 

prayer. 
"Forget me not" in feeble age, 
E'en let me then your thoughts engage. 
" Forget me not " when death shall 

close 
These eyelids in their last repose, 
And murm'ring breezes softly wave 
Perchance the grass upon my grave. 
Whate'er thy age and lot may be, 
Long as thy life shall last remember 

me. 



66 ALBUM VERSES. 

Friend ! Trust* not, cling not, to the 
hope 

Of constancy below. 
Earth's fragile blossoms smile and drop, 

Her waters ebb and flow. 

Yet time to time some joys may blight, 

Some finer feelings chill, 
But may'st thou hold one hope of light 

Unchanged, unclouded stili. 

The hope to win in realms above 
Of bright and boundless range, 

A world of constancy and love, 
A world that cannot change. 

Small service is true service while it 
lasts ; 
Of friends, however humble, scorn 
not one: 
The daisy, by the shadow that it casts, 
Protects the lingering dew-drop from 
the sun. 



Every hour comes to us charged with 
duty, and the moment it is past returns 
to Heaven to register itself how spent. 

There is a Divinity that shapes our ends, 
Rough-hew them how we will. 



ALBUM VERSES. 67 

Make good use of time if thou lovest 
eternity ; yesterday cannot be recalled; 
to-morrow cannot be secured ; to-day 
only is thine, which, if once lost, is lost 
forever. 



May each thought be pure and sincere, 

Addressed upon these spotless pages; 

Reflections fond, they'll always prove, 

Youthful friend, through many ages. 



They who have light in themselves, 
will not revolve as satellites. 



Through time we'll change, and then, 
This little book will somewhat bind 
us ; 

You'll take it up, and think of me, 
And all the joys we've left behind us. 



As the shadow of the sun is the 
largest when his beams are lowest, 
so we are always least when we make 
ourselves the greatest. 



Our eyes see all around in gloom or 

glow, 
Hues of their own, fresh borrowed from 

the heart. 



68 ALBUM VERSES. 

Across the page of spotless white 
Friends trail the pen, and in our sight 
Grow precious all the lines they write. 

As for some white-sailed ship at sea, 
JSo, little book, my watch for thee ; 
Return with freight of love to me. 



Why, of course, I will write 

Just what my thoughts may indite, 

In this, your leaves of affection; 
And I hope your life without one flaw, 
May secure a real nice mother-in-law, 

So that you may feel no dejection. 



Let Fate do her worst ; there are 

relics of joy, 
Bright dreams of the past, she cannot 

destroy ; 
They come in the night-time of sorrow 

and care, 
And bring back the features that joy 

used to wear. 
Like the vase, in which roses have once 

been distilled, 
You may break — you may shatter — the 

vase, if you will ; 
But the scent of the roses will hang 

round it still. 



ALBUM VERSES. 69 

If you wish success in life make per- 
severance your bosom friend, experi- 
ence your wise counsel, caution your 
elder brother, and hope your guardian 
genius. 



Count that day lost whose low descend- 
ing sun 

Views from thy hand no worthy action 
done. 



'Tis but a trifle that you ask, 

But this you will admit, 
That trifles, more than greater tasks, * 

Will sometimes strain our wit. 
I wish thee health, and wealth, and joy, 

As others have before: 
And were I in poetic mood, 

I'd surely wish thee more. 



May you still be given 
Strength for each day in house and 
home 

To practice forbearance sweetly, 
To scatter kind words and loving deeds, 

Trusting in God completely. 



Your character cannot be essentially 
injured except by your own acts. 



70 ALBUM VERSES. 

Write your name by kindness, love 
and mercy, upon the hearts of those you 
come in contact with, and you will 
never be forgotten. 



Recollect that trifles make perfection, 
and that perfection is no trifle. 



Here's a sigh for those who love me, 
And a smile for those who hate, 

And whatever sky's above me, 
Here's a heart for every fate. 



In all thy humors, whether grave or 
mellow, 

Thou art such a touchy, testy, pleasant 
fellow; 

Hast so much wit, and mirth, and spleen, 
about thee, 

There is no living with thee nor with- 
out thee. 



I write here a name which I hope shall 

be known 
To all of the ages which follow my own. 
"How conceited!" you say; but my 

lines shall remain ; 
'Tis my hope, you'll discover, not I, that 

is vain. 



ALBUM VERSES. 71 

Our greatest ' glory consists not in 
never falling, but in rising every time 
we fall 



Though many miles apart 
Our homes may prove to be, 

Yet in the recess of your heart 
Keep one kind thought of me. 

Always have a willing hand 

Full of kind deeds, 

For many needs; 

Also have a loving heart most. 



Great truths are portions of the soul of 
man ; 
Great souls are portions of eternity ; 
Each drop of blood that e'er through 
true heart ran 
With lofty message, ran for thee and 
me; 
For God's law, since the starry song 
began, 
Hath been, and still forevermore 
must be, 
That every deed which shall outlast 
Time's span 
Must goad the soul to be erect and 
free. 



72 ALBUM VERSES. 

True friends, like ivy and the wall, 
Both stand together or together fall. 



Hearts, like doors, can ope' with ease, 
To very, very little keys ; 
And don't forget that they are these: 
" 1 thank you sir," and " if you please." 



May you live in bliss, from sorrow 

away, 
Having plenty laid up for a rainy day ; 
And when you are ready to settle in 

life, 
May you find a good husband and make 

a good wife. 



Our lives are albums ; each new day's 
a page 
As spotless as the leaf on which I 
write. 
Whene'er those books of ours shall be 
read, 
May few unwise inscriptions meet the 
sight. 



On the broad highway of action 
Friends of worth are far and few ; 
But when one has proved her friendship, 
Cling to her who clings to you. 



ALBUM VERSES. 73 

Blessings real and a brighter hope for 
time and eternity. 

Were mine the power, I'd twine for thee 

A crown of jewels rare ; 
Each gem should be a kingdom, 

Each pearl an humble prayer, 



There are few friends in this wide world 
Whose love is fond and true ; 

But, , when you count them o'er 

Place me among the few. 



With a heart free from care, and my 
home in the West, 
Pll pace the broad deck with a light 
throbbing breast, 
Yet still as 1 dream of those days that 
are gone, 
Of the gay happy hours in my own 
native home, 
Far, far o'er the wave my heart wanders 
there 
To its shrine of devotion,where youth, 
free from care, 
We spent such golden hours of inno- 
cence and glee 
With you and dear companions, so 
pray remember me. 



74 ALBUM VERSES. 

May you always be happy, 
And live at your ease ; 

Get a kind husband, 
And do as you please. 



May thy heart beat with purest hopes 

To pity and to bless, 
And strive to make earth's comforts 
more, 

Its pains and follies less. 



Love's but a baby that passionate 
Cries to be mated at birth: 

Time isn't lost if it teaches you 
What a good woman is worth. 

There is a small and simple flower 
That twines around the humblest cot, 

And in the sad and lonely hours 
It whispers low: " Forget me not." 



When asked in an album to write, 

I feel quite inclined to refuse ; 
For what should I dare to indite 

That would a young lady amuse ? 
Not wit, for I have none of that, 

Nor romance — my fancy is tame ; 
And compliments sound so flat, 

I'm forced to write merely my name. 



ALBUM VERSES. 75 

What if the waiting be wearisome, 
What if the work days be drear: 

Time, the old thief, cannot rob you 
Of fifty-two Sundays a year. 

There is many a rest on the road of 
life, 
If we only would stop to take it, 
And many a tone from the better land, 
If the querulous heart would wake it. 
To the sunny soul that, full of hope, 
And whose beautiful trust ne'er 
faileth, 
The grass is green and the flowers are 
bright, 
Though the wintry storm prevaileth. 

Little minds are tamed and subdued 
by misfortune, but great minds rise 
above it. 

Beauty is but a vain, a fleeting good, 

A shining gloss that fadeth suddenly, 
A flower that dies when almost in the 
bud, 
A bright glass that breaketh sud- 
denly ; 
A fleeting good, a glass, a gloss,a flower, 
Lost, faded, broken, dead within the 
hour. 



76 ALBUM VERSES. 

May she for whom these lines are penned 
By using well, make time her friend ; 
Then whether he stands still or flies, 
Whether the moment lives or dies, 
She need not care; for time will be 
Her friend, to all eternity. 



All the blessings of this life are noth- 
ing worth without the sunshine of hope 
for a bright and lasting future. My 
wishes are these for thee. 



May happiness ever be thy lot, 
Wherever thou shalt be ; 

And joy and pleasure light the spot 
That may be home to thee. 



How sweet to have a faithful friend, 

In whom we can confide: 
To bless us if we act aright, 

And if we err to chide. 



Hope the best, get ready for the 
worst, and take what God sends. 



Be content with the lot God has 
marked out for you. Love, honor and 
obey Him in all things, and your last 
days will be peaceful and happy. 



ALBUM VERSES. 77 

The cheek is pale with thought, but not 
from woe, 
And yet so lovely that if mirth could 

flush 
Its rose of whiteness with the bright- 
est blush, 
My heart would wish away the ruddier 

glow; 
And dazzle not thy deep blue eyes — 
but oh! 
While gazing on them — sterner eyes 

will gush, 
And into mine my mother's weak- 
ness rush, 
Soft as the last drops round heaven's 

airy bow; 
For, through thy long dark lashes low 
depending, 
The soul of melancholy Gentleness 
Gleams like a Seraph from the sky 
descending. 
Above all pain — yet pitying all 
distress, 
At once such majesty with sweetness 
blending, 
I worship more but cannot love thee 
less. 



78 ALBUM VERSES. 

May the morn of thy life be bright 
and joyous, the noontide peaceful and 
happy, and the sunset gloriously hope- 
ful, is the wish of your friend. 



Life, Death and Immortality — these 
three — the first, the Road — the second, 
the Gate. May you walk safely the 
first, pass triumphantly the second, and 
rest forever in the third. 



Although I am advised not to write 

fast, 
I hope the thought I would express may 

last. 



Methinks that many years have flown 

And in a large arm-chair, 
is sitting older grown 

With silver in her hair. 

And thus she muses, as she wipes 

Her glasses o'er and o'er: 
I wonder if my album keeps 

The memories of yore. 

She turns the pages through and through 
With many a sigh and kiss, 

When suddenly she stops and says, 
Who could have written this? 



ALBUM VERSES. 79 

Three friends that never fail 

Each mortal hath, 
Himself, his God, and last 

The Angel, Death. 

Dearer than power or fame 

Or hoarded pelf, 
Nearer than brother's love — 

The love of self. 

Truer than sun or star, 

Higher than Heaven, 
Deeper than neither space 

God's love is given. 

More gentle than the Spring 

Or Summer's breath, 
And as a Mother kind, 

The Angel — Death. 



Yes, , I will write my name 

In here, as you request; 
And, if to you it's all the same, 
I'll add a line — though rather tame- 
For Critic's eyes, as my bequest. 

My wishes and my hopes for you, 

Find glad expression here ; 
Although, indeed, it's very true, 
There is no room for all that's due 
To one we hold so dear. 






So ALBUM VERSES. 

Good health — first wish of all — 

Of all God's gifts the best ; 
A happy heart that loves to call 
On Him who notes the sparrow's fall 
And promises sweet rest. 

Although beset by worldly care, 

Fix all your hopes on Heaven, 
And view by faith the glories fair, 
Which, in that world beyond the air, 
To faithful ones are given. 



May the Angels twine for thee 
A wreath of immortality. 



The night has a thousand eyes — 

The day but one ; 
Yet the light of the whole world dies 

With the setting sun. 

The mind has a thousand eyes — 

The day but one; 
Yet the light of the whole world dies 

When love is done. 



It has been beautifully said: The 
water that flows from a spring does not 
congeal in winter ; and those sentiments 
which flow from the heart cannot be 
chilled by adversity. 



ALBUM VERSES. 81 

You ask for your Album a rhyme ; 

With pleasure I hear and obey ; 
Refusal were folly or crime — 

For who could to say "nay?" 



There's many a trouble 

Would break like a bubble, 
And into the waters of Lethe depart, 

Did not we rehearse it 

And tenderly nurse it, 
And give it a permanent place in the 
heart. 

Resolve to be merry, 

All worry to ferry, 
Across the famed waters that bid us 
forget. 

And no longer fearful, 

But happy and cheerful, 
We feel life has much that's worth 
living for yet. 



May we always remain as good 
friends as we are neighbors. 

On this spotless page my pen essays 
to trace a record of affection ; and, as 
I write, a wish is in my heart that, for 
thee, every life-leaf will be written with 
the golden pen of love. 



82 ALBUM VERSES. 

Beautiful faces are those that wear 
The light of a pleasant spirit there, 
It matters little if dark or fair. 



Long may Heaven's protecting arm 
Shield thee, , from all harm. 



Be kind to all ; be intimate with few; 
And may the few be well chosen. 



Evils in the journey of life are like 
the hills which alarm travelers upon 
their road ; they both appear great in 
the distance, but when we approach 
them, we find them far less insurmount- 
able than we had conceived. 



Miss — ! O Miss ! 

What can I write that's new 

Among so very many 

Pretty compliments to you ? 

In poetry, I fear I'd fail — 

I'm very sure I'd stammer — 

You cannot drive the ponderous nail 

With a small ten-cent tack hammer. 

Since, then, so high I cannot soar, 

Nor chirp notes like the lark, 

Please cancel what I've said before, 

I'll simply make my mark. 



ALBUM VERSES. 83 

If a body ask a body, 

In her book to write ; 
If a body refuse a body, 

Need a body fight ? 

All the lassies and the laddies 
Write sweet things herein ; 

If a body write less sweetly, 
Does a body sin ? 



May Future, with her kindest smile, 
Wreath laurels for thy brow ; 

May loving angels guard and keep thee 
Ever pure as thou art now. 



If writing in Albums remembrance 

insures, 
With the greatest of pleasure I'll 

scribble in yours. 



In after years when you recall 

The days of pleasures past, 
And think of joyous hours and all 

Have flown away so fast, 
When some forgotten air you hear 

Brings back past scenes to thee, 
And gently claims your listening ear 

Keep one kind thought for me. 



84 ALBUM VERSES. 

When years and months have glided 
by, 
And on this page you cast your eye, 
Remember 'twas a friend sincere 
That left this kind remembrance here. 
With best wishes for your future 
cheer. 

Dear , may your life be blest 

With friendship, love and happiness ; 

May all your friends prove true, 

And cheer you all the journey through. 

This life is not all sunshine, 

Nor is it yet all showers; 
But storms and calms alternate, 

As thorns among the flowers ; 
And while we seek the roses, 

The thorns full oft we scan, 
Still let us, though they wound us, 

Be happy as we can. 

This life has heavy crosses, 

As well as joys to share, 
And griefs and disappointments, 

Which you and I must bear; 
And if we may not follow 

The path our hearts would plan, 
Let us make all around us, 

As happy as we can. 



ALBUM VERSES. 85 

May the hinges of our Friendship 
never rust. 



May your days in joy be passed 
With friends to bless and cheer, 

And each year exceed the last 
In all that earth holds dear. 



Though many friends have signed their 
names, 
And some have left their mark, 
I see a place for me remains 
To add my small remark. 
My wish for thee is: joy through life ; 
And bliss supreme, when some one's 
wife. 



I pray the prayer of Plato old: 
God make thee beautiful within ; 

And let thine eye the good behold 
In everything save sin. 



A few true friends to aid us and love 
us, 
And cordial hands to warmly clasp 
our own ; 
O ! surely God hath never made us 
To live distrustingly, selfish, and 
alone. 



86 ALBUM VERSES. 

A verse you ask this fine day: 
Of course I'll write you one. 

The task of writing finds its pay 
In joy that it is done. 

Why ask a name ? 

Small is the good it brings ; 
Names are but breath — 

Deeds — deeds alone — are things. 



The truest happiness is found in 
making others happy. 



Accept my friend these lines from me, 
They show that I remember thee, 
And hope some thought they will retain 
Till you and I shall meet again. 

For thee, my fair and gentle friend, 
I ask not wealth or fame, 
I only ask thy path may be 
Free from life's toil and care. 

Among the many friends that claim 
A kind remembrance in thy breast, 

I too would add my simple name, 
-Among the rest. 






Never grow weary doing good. 



ALBUM VERSES. 87 

May Heaven on you its choicest bless- 
ings shower 
Is the sincere wish of your friend. 



Let us try to be happy, we may if we 
will 

Find some pleasure in life to o'er- 
balance the ill. 

There was never an evil, if well under- 
stood, 

But what, rightly managed, would turn 
to a good. 

If we were but as ready to look to the 

light, 
As we are to sit moping because it is 

night, 
We would own it a truth, both in word 

and in deed 
That who tries to be happy is sure to 

succeed. 

Let us only in earnestness each do our 

best, 
Before God and our conscience, and 

trust for the rest, 
Still taking the truth, both in word and 

in deed, 
That who tries to be happy is sure to 

succeed. 



88 ALBUM VERSES. 

Keep me in remembrance, 
If in the darkness 

I should stray afar, 

Like some lost traveler 

With no guiding star. 
Be then still my true, 

Sincere, and loving friend, 
And o'er all ills and 

Trials to my life's end 

Keep me in remembrance. 



I want a warm and faithful friend, 

To cheer the adverse hour ; 
Who ne'er to flatter will descend, 

Nor bend the knee to power; 
A friend to chide me when I'm wrong; 

My inmost soul to see ; 
And that my friendship prove as strong 

For him as his for me. 

Of all the gifts which heaven bestows 
There is one above all measure, 

And that's a friend 'midst all our woes 
A friend, is found a treasure. 

To thee I give this sacred name 

For thou are such to me, 
And ever proudly will I claim 

To be a friend of thee, 



ALBUM VERSES. 8g 

There is a flower, a lovely flower 

Tinged deep with faith's unchanging 
hue, 
Pure as the ether, in its hour, 

Of loveliest and serenest blue ; 
The streamlet's gentle side it seeks, 

The quiet fount, the shaded grot, 
And sweetly to the heart it speaks 

Forget me not ! forget me not ! 



Then be not coy, but use your time, 
And while ye may, go marry ; 

For having lost but once your prime 
You may forever tarry. 

Be always kind-hearted, 

Do good deeds without end, 

But never forget, 

Your affectionate friend. 



No night descend on thee, 
O'er thee no sorrows come ; 

Safe be thy journey through, 

Through this vale of cloud and gloom. 

Hope's precious pearl in sorrow's cup 

U.nmelted at the bottom lay, 
To shine again, when all drank up; 
i The bitterness should pass away. 



90 ALBUM VERSES. 

Favor is deceitful and beauty is vain, 
but a woman that feareth the Lord she 
shall be praised. — Prov. xxxi, 30. 



May the blessing of God be upon thee, 
May the Sun of Glory shine 'round thy 

bed, 
May the gates of plenty, honor and 

happiness be open to thee. 
May no sorrow distress thy days, 
May no griefs disturb thy nights; 
May the pillow of peace kiss thy cheek, 
And the pleasure of realization attend 

thy beautiful dreams. 
And when length of days makes thee 
Tired of earthly joys, and the curtain of 
Death gently closes 'round thy last 

sleep of human existence, 
May the Angel of God attend thy bed 

and 
Take care that the expiring lamp of 

life 
Shall not receive one rude blast to 

hasten on its extinction. 



One by one thy griefs will meet thee, 
Do not fear an armed band ; 

One will fade as others greet thee, 
Shadows passing through the land. 



ALBUM VERSES. 91 

If peace is to be your portion through 
life (and surely why not?) the Light 
of the World, which the scripture 
declares is Jesus, must ever be observed 
and obeyed. The hope of your friend 
is that ''You may be kept in perfect 
peace by having your mind stayed on 
Christ Jesus." 



I'm in a quandary how to compose 
Doggerel rhymes and ditties for those 
Albums so freely thrust under my nose. 
Vain 'tis to strive 'gainst the Miss who 

decrees, 
n An original poem, if you please," 
From your dull brain you must squeeze. 
Fain would I fly — I care not where ; 
Lend me your wings, oh, angels fair, 
Encounter another album I do not dare. 
Can it be that there is no country 

bright, 
Kept securely free from albums' blight? 



So live, so act, that every hour, 
May die as dies the natural flower, 
A self-reviving thing of power, 
That every word and every deed, 
May bear within itself the seed 
Of future good in future need. 



92 ALBUM VERSES. 

With hope and faith for our beacon 
lights, 

While virtue guides our way, 
Secure we'd pass temptations by, 

That would lead our hearts astray. 
And each to the other kind and true 

While earth was our spirit's haven, 
Would pray that we ne'er might part 
on earth 

But to meet again in heaven. 



Help somebody worse off than your- 
self, and you will find you are better off 
than you fancied. 

This book may fall asunder, 

Its pages dim with age ; 
The ink may lose its lustre 

Upon each shining page, 
But she who writes these verses 

Shall ever, ever be, 
Through all the world's reverses 

A faithful friend to thee. 



Oh ! for the power of Tennyson's pen! 

(By my failures to rhyme I'm de- 
jected), 
To tell all the world again and again, 

In your album how much I'm affected 



ALBUM Vt,ks£S. 93 

May peace enfold thee in her downy 
wing, 
Pure songs around thee weave a fai'ry 
spell, 
To heaven thy heart's deep longing 
cling, 
And happiness forever with thee 
dwell. 



They say that love had once a book 
(The urchin likes to copy you), 

Where all who came the pencil took, 
And wrote — like us — a line or two. 

'Twas innocence, the maid divine, 
Who kept this volume bright and fair 

And saw that no unhallowed line 
Or thought profane should enter 
there. 

And daily did the pages fill 

With fond device and loving lore, 

And every leaf she turned was still 
More bright than that she turned 
before. 



Heart is a hope-place, and home is a 
heart-place, and she is sadly mistaken 
who would exchange the happiness of 
home for anything less than heaven. 



94 ALBUM VERSES. 

May angels weave for thee a crown 
of immortality. 



Trust, my friend, no Siren's whisper, 
Weave no web in fancy's loom, 

Build no castle for the future, 
For the golden days to come. 

Life has more or less besetments, 
More or less of grief and woe, 

Shadows always check our pathway, 
Sunbeams only come and go. 

Cast thy bread upon the waters, 
Out upon the waves alone, 

You will find it drifted to thee 
After many days have flown. 

Ever hoping and enduring, 
Ever prayerful on the way, 

May you reach the golden entrance 
Opening on eternal day. 



I would not enter on my list 

Of friends the man 

Who needlessly sets foot upon a worm. 

An inadvertant step may crush the snail 

That crawls at evening in the public 

path ; 
But he that has humanity, forewarned, 
Will tread aside and let the reptile live. 



ALBUM VERSES. 95 

The bright black eye, the melting blue, 
I cannot choose between the two ; 

But that is dearest all the while 

Which means for us the sweetest 
smile. 



I ask not a life for thee, 

All radiant as others have done, 
But that life may have just enough 
shadow 

To temper the glare of the sun. 



Thus as these lines I slowly trace 

Across this spotless page 
Will time all earthly things efface 

And passing leave behind no trace 
But the vile dusts of age ; 

But truth and virtue mounting high 
Shall heavenward wing their flight, 

And shine forever from the sky 
Beyond the gems of night. 



As jewels incased in a casket of gold, 
Where the richest of treasure we 
hide, 
So our purest of thoughts lie deep and 
untold, 
Like the gems that are under the 
tide. 



96 ALBUM VERSES. 



See Proverbs — 4 Chap., 18, 19 Verses. 
Then choose at once, 
May the Lord guide thee. 

There's little in earth's pomp and pride 

To lean on or to trust ; 
The wealth of earth cannot abide, 

It crumbles into dust. 
But there'll remain, when other wealth 

Shall vanish and depart, 
Far better than our sordid self — 

The love of one true heart. 



Every young man is now a sower of 
seed on the field of life. The bright 
days of youth are the seed-time. Every 
thought of your intellect, every emo- 
tion of your heart, every word of your 
tongue, every principle you adopt, 
every act you perform, is a seed whose 
good or evil fruit will prove bliss or 
bane of your after life. 



Life is a leaf of paper white, 
Whereon each one of us may write 
His word or two, and then comes night. 
Greatly begin ! Though thou have time 
But for a line, be that sublime ; 
Not failure, but low aim, is crime. 



ALBUM VERSES. 97 

The fruits of a well spent life 

Brings contentment and peace in old 

age- 
Faithful to thy trust, duties well per- 
formed 
Keep away the rust and drives back the 
storm. 



Keep thy spirit pure, promptly do thy 

part, 
God will surely bless and purify thy 

heart. 



Little deeds of kindness, done in a 

quiet way, 
Reach both deep and wide, and always 

bring their pay. 



May'stthou live in joy forever, 
Naught from thee true pleasure sever ; 
From thy heart arise no sigh, 
And no tear bedew thine eye: 
Joys be many, cares be few, 
Smoothe the path thou shalt pursue, 
And heaven's richest blessings shine 
Ever on both thee and thine. 



Guard well thy thoughts ; our 
thoughts are heard in heaven. 






q8 ALBUM VERSES. 



As a slight token of esteem, 

Accept these lines from me ; 
So plain and simple, they do seem 

Unworthy such as thee. 
But soon these traced lines will fade 

And disappear — T tis their doom. 
May you, unlike them, be arrayed 

In a perpetual bloom. 

Doubt thou the stars are fire ; 

Doubt that the sun doth move ; 
Doubt Truth to be a liar ; 

But never doubt I love ! 



Oh ! how the passions, insolent and 

strong, 
Bear our weak minds their rapid course 

along ; 
Make us the madness of their will 

obey ; 
Then die, and leave us to our griefs a 

prey. 



There is a comfort in the strength of 

Love ; 
'Twill make a thing endurable, which 

else 
Would overset the brain or break the 

heart. 



ALBUM VERSES. 99 

I have heard of reasons manifold 

Why love must needs be blind ; 
But this the best of all I hold — 

His eyes are in his mind. 
What outward form and feature are 

He guesseth but in part ; 
But what within is good and fair 

He seeeth with his heart. 



Thou art beautiful, young lady — ■ 
But I need not tell you this ; 

For few have borne, unconsciously, 
The spell of loveliness. 



Oh fairest of creation ! last and best 
Of all God's works I creatures in whom 

excelled ; 
Whatever can to sight or thought be 

form'd 
Holy, divine, good, amiable or sweet ! 



Love ! What a volume in a word ! an 
ocean in a tear! 

A seventh heaven in a glance ! a whirl- 
wind in a sigh ! 

The lightning in a touch — a millenium 
in a moment ! 

What concentrated joy, or woe, in blest 
or blighted love ! 



ALBUM VERSES. 



Farewell, oh farewell, but whenever 

you give 

A thought to the days that are gone, 

Of the bright sunny things that in 

memory live, 

Let a thought of the writer be one. 



Ye flowers that droop, forsaken by the 

spring ; 
Ye birds that, forsaken by the summer, 

cease to sing ; 
Ye trees that fade when autumn heats 

remove, 
Say, is not absence death to those who 

love ? 



There are ten thousand tones and signs 
We hear and see, but none defines — 
Involuntary sparks of thought 
Which strike from out the heart o'er- 

wrought, 
And form a strange intelligence 
Alike mysterious and intense ; 
Which link the burning chain that 

binds, 
Without their will, young hearts and 

minds, 
Conveying as the electric wire, 
We know not how, the absorbing fire. 



ALBUM VERSES. 101 

Write your name in Love, Kindness 
and Charity, on the hearts of the 
people you come in contact with, and 
you will be loved by all. 

When Time was entwining the garland 
of years, 
- Which to crown my beloved was 
given, 
Though some of the leaves might be 
sullied with tears, 
Yet the flowers were all gathered in 
heaven. 
And long may this garland be sweet to 
the eye, 
May its verdure forever be new! 
Young Love shall enrich it with many 
a sigh, 
And Pity shall nurse it with dew. 



Some friends may wish thee happiness, 
Some others wish thee wealth ; 

My wish for thee is better far — 
Contentment, blest with health. 



Let the road be rough and dreary, 
And its end far out of sight ; 

Foot it bravely — strong or weary — 
Trust in God, and do the right. 



102 ALBUM VERSES. 

Through time we'll change, and then 
This little book will somewhat bind 
us. 

You'll take it up, and think of me 
And all the joys we've left behind us. 

Live well ; how long or short, permit 

to Heaven ; 
They who forgive most shall be most 

forgiven. 

Our lives are albums ; each new day's 
a page 
As spotless as the leaf on which I 
write. 
Whene'er those books of ours shall be 
read, 
May few unwise inscriptions meet 
the sight. 



Beauty is but a vain, a fleeting good, 

A shining gloss that fadeth suddenly, 
A flower that dies when almost in the 
bud, 
A bright glass that breaketh suddenly; 
A fleeting good, a glass, a gloss, a 
flower, 
Lost, faded, broken, dead within the 
hour. 



ALBUM VERSES. 103 

Not purple violets in the early spring 
Such graceful sweets, such tender 

beauties bring ; 
The orient blush which does thy cheeks 

adorn, 
Makes coral pale — vies with the rosy 

morn. 



Accomplishments are native to her 
mind, 
Like precious pearls within a clasp- 
ing shell, 
And winning grace her every act re- 
fined, 
Like sunshine, shedding beauty where 
it fell. 



The time is swiftly passing by 
When we must bid adieu. 

We know not when we meet again, 
So these lines I leave with you. 



There is pleasure in the pathless woods: 
There is rapture on the lonely shore; 
There is society where none intrudes, 
By the deep sea, and music in its 
roar ; 
I love not man the less but nature 
more. 



104 ALBUM VERSES. 

When the golden sun is sinking, 

And your mind from care and 
trouble's free ; 

When of others you are thinking, 
Won't you sometimes think of me ? 

A gentle word is never lost, 

Oh ! never, then refuse one; 
It cheers the heart when tempest-tossed, 

And lulls the cares that bruise one ; 
It scatters sunshine o'er our way, 

And turns our thorns to roses ; 
It changes weary night and day, 

And hope and love discloses. 



If ever a husband you should have, 
And he this book should see, 
Tell him of your youthful days, 
And kiss him once for me. 



As o'er the cold sepulchral stone 
Some name arrests the passer-by, 

Thus, when thou view'st this page alone, 
May mine attract thy pensive eye ! 

And when by thee that name is read, 
Perchance in some succeeding year, 

Reflect on me as on the dead, 

And think my heart is buried here. 



ALBUM VERSES. 105 

Save thy toiling, spare thy treasure, 
All I ask is friendship's pleasure ; 
Let the shining orb lie darkling, 
Bring no gem in lustre sparkling. 

Gifts and gold are naught to me; 

I would only look on thee 1 

Accept, my friend, these lines from me, 
They show that I remember thee, 
And hope some thought they will 

retain, 
Till you and I shall meet again. 



May Future, with her kindest smile, 
Wreath laurels for thy brow ; 

May loving angels guard and keep thee 
Ever pure as thou art now. 



Count not the hours while their silent 
wings 
Thus waft them in fairy flight ; 
For feeling, warm from her dearest 
springs, 
Shall hallow the scene to-night. 
And while the music of joy is here, 

And the colors of life are gay, 
Let us think on those that have loved 
us dear — 
The friends who are far away. 



106 ALBUM VERSES. 

In the evening of life cherish the 
remembrance of those who loved thee in 
its morning. 



This album's a mansion which offers its 
best, 
To the friends who have written 
their thoughts, 
And the banquet is spread with festal 
face, 
Where guests mingle enjoyment with 
rest ; 
And they leave their memorials under 
thy roof, 
Sometimes in sorrow, more oft in joy 
divine, 
Nor think a single thought quite good 
enough, 
To measure its faintest pulse with 
thine. 



Though many friends have signed their 
names, 
And some have left their mark, 
I see a place for me remains 

To add my small remark. 
My wish for thee is : joy through life ; 
And bliss supreme, when some one's 
wife. 



ALBUM VERSES. 107 

Here is one leaf reserved for me, 
From all thy sweet memorials free ;.- 
And here my simple song might tell 
The feelings thou must guess so well. 
But could I thus within my mind 
One little vacant corner find, 
Where no impression yet is seen, 
Where no memorial yet has been ; 
Oh, it should be my sweetest care 
To write my name forever there ! 



There is nothing but death 
Our affections can sever, 

And till life's latest breath 
Love shall bind us forever. 



To write in your album, dear friend, 

you ask, 
Ah, well ! it is not such a difficult task. 
All I can say is contained in one line 

here ; 
May the blessings of Heaven forever 

be thine. 



A place in thy memory, dearest, 

Is all that I claim ; 
To pause and look back when thou 
nearest 

The sound of my name. 



108 ALBUM VERSES. 

Let us be kind to each other ! 

The night's coming on, 
When friend and when brother 

Perchance may be gone ! 
Then, midst our dejection, 

How sweet to have earned 
The blest recollection 

Of kindness returned. 






I know not what to write about, 
So many themes are pressing ; 

All good enough in very truth, 
But quite unprepossessing: 

Each moment of thy future life, 

Live holy, whether maid or wife. 

Fond Memory, come and hover o'er 

This album page of my dear friend ; 
Enrich her from thy precious store, 

And happy recollection send. 
If on this page she chance to gaze, 

In years to come — where'er she be — 
Tell her of earlier happy days, 

And bring her back one thought of 
me. 



EgTEEM HND O0NPIDENOE. 



Some little token of regard, 
You wish from me to claim; 

But as time is pressing hard, 
I will but write my name. 



Every joy that heaven can send ; 

Wealth, and every kind of treasure- 
Health and love to thee, my friend, 

And happiness without measure. 



In future years should trusted friends 

Depart like summer birds ; 
And all the comfort memory lends, 

Is false and honeyed words, 
Turn then to me who fain would prove, 

However thy lot be cast, 
That naught his heart can ever move 

From friendship of the past. 



Speak of me kindly when life's dreams 

are o'er; 
Speak of me gently when I am no 

more. 



no ALBUM VERSES. 

In the evening of life cherish the 
remembrance of one who loved thee in 
its morning. 



Safely down Life's ebbing tide, 
May our vessels smoothly glide, 
And anchor side by side — in heaven. 



That Hope and you, 
Bright days will view. 



May He who hath penciled the 
leaves with beauty, given the flowers 
their bloom, and lent music to the lay 
of the timid bird, graciously remember 
thee in that day when He shall gather 
His jewels. 

To write in your Album, dear friend, 

you ask ; 
Ah, well ! it is not such a difficult task. 
All I can say is contained here in one 

line: 
May the blessings of Heaven forever 

be thine. 



A long life, and a happy one ; 
A tall man, and a jolly one — 
Like— well — you know who! 



ALBUM VERSES. in 

May your path be strewn with roses, ■ 
Fair and flowery to the end ; 

And when your body in death reposes, 
May your Maker be your friend. 

Well, , I surely would like to 

please ; 

But can't think what to say. 
All your friends have wishes bright, 

To cheer your life so gay. 

I will add: May all their words 

Be symbols of love and truth ; 
That when you grow weary, and seek 
for rest, 
You will rejoice in the friends of 
your youth. 



The hills are shadows, and they flow 
From form to form, and nothing 
stands ; 
They melt like mist the solid lands, 
Like clouds they shape themselves 
and go. 

But in my spirit will I dwell, 

And dream my dream and hold it 
true ; 
For though my pen doth write adieu, 

I cannot say for aye farewell. 



ALBUM VERSES. 



God's love and peace be with thee, 

when 
Soe'r this soft Autumnal air 
Lifts the dark tresses of thy hair. 

Thou lack'st not friendship's spellword, 

nor 
The half-unconscious power to draw 
All hearts to thine by Love's sweet law. 

With such a prayer, on this sweet day, 
As thou may'st hear and I may say, 
I greet thee, dearest, far away. 



This Album's a mansion which offers 
its best, 
To the friends who have written their 
thoughts, 
And the banquet is spread with festal 
fare, 
Where guests mingle enjoyment 
with rest ; 
And they leave their memorials under 
thy roof, 
Sometimes in sorrow, more oft in joy 
divine, 
Nor think a single thought quite good 
enough, 
To measure its faintest pulse with 
thine. 



I 

ALBUM VERSES. 113 

From memory's leaves, 

I fondly squeeze 
Three little words — 

Forget Me Not. 



Let not your friendship be like the rose, 

to sever ; 
But, like the evergreen, may it last 

forever. 



He who does good to another does 
also good to himself — not only in the 
act, but in the consciousness of well- 
doing is his reward. 




HUM®R@U3- 



I dip my pen into the ink, 
And grasp your album tight ; 

But for my life I cannot think 
One single word to write. 

In the storms of life, 

When you need an umbrella, 
May you have to uphold it 

A handsome young fellow. 



May beauty and truth, 
Keep you in youth ; 

Green tea and sage, 
Preserve your old age. 



Withsoever is this for why ? 
Wherefore. Ain't it ? 



Round went the book, and here it came, 
In it for me to write my name ; 
I would write better, if I could, 
But nature said I never should. 



ALBUM VERSES. 115 

Some people can be very funny, 

I never could be so. 
So I'll just inscribe my name ; 

It's the funniest thing I know. 

Sailing down the stream of life, 

In your little bark canoe, 
May you have a pleasant trip, 

With just room enough for two. 

Dear Friend : 

Do not doubt me ; 
You know more about me 
Than many whose names 
Here appear. 

But to tell them I'll never — 
What ! never? Hardly ever — 
What I'd like to write to you 
Here. 

'Tis nonsense I've written ; 
You'll think I am smitten 
With charms that I hold 
Very dear. 

Please excuse me from writing, 
More lines so inviting, 
Your time to be spent 
Idly here. 



n6 ALBUM VERSES. 

■ 

May your cheeks retain their dimples, 
May your heart be just as gay, 

Until some manly voice shall whisper, 
"Dearest, will you name the day?" 



I care not much for gold or land, 
Give me a mortgage here and there, 

Some good bank stock — some note of 
hand, 
Or trifling railroad share, 

I only ask that Fortune send 
A little more than I can spend. 



Fee simple and simple fee, 

And all the fees entail 
Are nothing when compared to thee- 

Thou best of fees — fe-male. 



What ! write in your album, for critics 

to spy, 
For the learned to laugh at? — No, not 

I! 



Accept my valued friendship, 
And roll it up in cotton, 

And think it not illusion, 
Because so easily gotten. 



ALBUM VERSES. 117 

When on this page you chance to look, 
Think of me and close the book. 



If you wish to laugh, 
Glance at my autograph. 



Man's love is like Scotch snuff — 
You take a pinch and that's enough. 
Profit by this sage advice, 
When you fall in love, think twice. 

Long may you live, 

Happy may you be, 
When you get married 

Come and see me. 



May you be happy, 
Each day of your life. 

Get a good husband 
And make a good wife. 



As sure as comes your wedding day, 
A broom to you I'll send ; 

In sunshine, use the brushy part, 
In storm, the other end. 



I write in your Album? 

How very absurd ! 
My mind is at random— 



BIRTHDAY YER5E3- 



Your Birthday will always be green 
in the memory of your friends. 

May these flowers, presented on your 
birthday, be emblematical of the purity 
of your life. 



Wake early this morning, 
Nor miss the grey dawning; 
Take this greeting from me 
As it goes straight to thee: 
May joy and gladness e'er be thine ; 
And endless brightness round thee 
shine. 





Like sunbeams to the drooping flowers, 
Good-will our lives doth bless ; 

It furthers every wish of ours, 
And joys in our success. 

So may its rays towards you flow, 

That none but friends your heart 
may know. 



ALBUM VERSES. 119 

I wish thee every blessing 
That can attend thee here ; 

And may each future birthday prove 
My wish to be sincere. 



In these days of mirth and glee, 
What shall my message be to thee? 
What can I wish for one so blest ? 
Thou sunny bird in a sunny nest ! 
This I wish, and this I pray: 
May the joys of life never pass away, 
But only merge in a sigh of bliss — 
Into a life far brighter than this! 



If words could all my wishes say, 

Oh ! how my tongue would talk away. 

I wish this day and many more 

Might on dear blessings pour. 

May health, wealth, love, and peace 
With each succeeding year increase ; 
And oh ! the last, come when it may, 
Be unto thee a happy day. 



As beauteous flowers in garlands inter- 
twine, 

May Peace and Love to cheer thy heart 
combine, 
To give you a very happy Birthday, 



120 ALBUM VERSES. 



This is thy Birthday, may it be, 
A source of happiness to thee, 
And may each Birthday yet in store, 
Be brighter than the one before. 



Dear friend, on this, thy natal day, 
I send to thee a little lay, 

And wishes tender 
And only ask that thou'lt repay 
My thoughts with thine, and fondly say, 

" I thank the sender.'' 

May Spring its blossoms round thee 

strew, 
And Summer, deck'd in mantle new, 

Come forth to greet thee ; 
May Autumn fruitage crown the year, 
And Winter, with its jovial cheer, 

Bring friends to meet thee. 

And if I still must absent be, 
Do not forget to send to me 

One kind word only, 
By home birds passing by the door, 
Who, flying towards this distant shore, 

May greet me lonely. 



YERgEg. 



Joy and plenty in the cottage, 
Peace and feasting in the hall ; 

And the voices of the children 
Ring out clear above it all : 
A merry Christmas ! 



Health and prosperity 

Your life to cheer, 
With every blessing 

For the bright New Year. 

Ring out, ye bells, o'er all the earth, 
To tell with brazen voice, 

The tidings of the Saviour's birth 
And bid mankind rejoice. 



Hark, the pearly air is trembling, 
Liquid music floats along; 

Angels, in sweet joy assembling, 
Thrill the skies with heavenly song. 

" Peace on Earth," is their refrain, 
Oh ! be it yours this peace to gain. 



122 ALBUM VERSES. 

On this New Year's morning 
My wishes take their flight, 

And wing to thee a greeting 

That would make all things bright. 



O, life is but a river 

And in our childhood we, 

But a fair and running streamlet 
Adorned with flowers, see. 

But as we grow more earnest, 
The river grows more deep, 

And where we laughed in childhood, 
We, older, pause to weep. 

Each Christmas, as it passes, 
Some change to us doth bring, 

Yet to our friends the closer, 
As time creeps on, we cling. 



Gladly now it is my pleasure, 
Joys to wish you, without measure, 
Happiness and peace attending, 
With pure heavenly blessings blending. 

True love shall live thro' sorrow's win- 
try storm, 

And bloom afresh on this glad Christ- 
mas morn. 



ALBUM VERSES. 123 

For friends we strive to pierce 
The future, dense and dark, 

But not a ray of light 

We see, nor faintest spark ; 

But yet while we have faith to cheer, 

We trusting wish " A bright New Year." 



May piety with wishes placed above, 
And steady loyalty and faithful love, 
Be thy blessings this Christmas-tide. 



May health and joy, and peace be thine 

Upon this Christmas day, 
And happy faces round thee shine 

As plenteous as the flowers in May. 



Now Christmas comes with hearty 
cheer, 

May kindly thoughts go round, 
And bring to you a glad New Year, 

With peace and plenty crowned. 

Christmas is coming, and what will it 

bring? 
Many a pleasant and gladdening thing! 
Meetings and greetings, and innocent 

mirth: 
All that is brightest and best on the 

earth. 



124 ALBUM VERSES. 

A little bird comes singing, 

Singing a song to you ; 
He sings of sun-tipped flowers, 

Bathed in a diamond dew. 
" The days are coming," he warbles, 

" When the frost has flown away, 
When the earth will be sweet with 
flowers 

And the breath of new-mown hay." 

Oh bird so softly singing 

Your song of pleasant days, 
Go sing to her I fondly love, 

Through the wintry cold and bare. 
When the heart is light, the days are 
bright, 

And the sun seems ever near ; 
So sing her your lay this Christmas Day, 

And through all the bright New Year. 



Ring in, ring in the revelries, 

And let the feast be one 
Where not a single guest there is 

But Innocence and Fun ! 
Let Christmas warmth keep winter out, 

And joy unbroken reign — 
From floor to rooftree send the shout 

Till Christmas comes again! 



ALBUM VERSES. 125 

Christmas comes, let every heart 
In Christmas customs bear its part: 
The " old " be " young," the sad be gay, 
And smiles chase every care away. 



Our Saviour Christ was born 
That we might have the Rose without 
the thorn. 
All through His desert life 
He felt the thorns of human sin and 
strife. 
His blessed feet were bare 
To every hurting brier. He did not 
spare 
One bleeding footstep on the way 
He came to trace for us, until the day 
The cruel crown was pressed upon the 

Brow 
That smiles upon us from His glory 

now. 
And so He won for us 
Sweet, thornless, everlasting flowers 
thus. 
He bids our desert way 
Rejoice and blossom as the Rose to- 
day. 
There is no hidden thorn 
In His good gifts of grace. He would 
adorn 



126 ALBUM VERSES. 

The lives that now are His alone, 
With brightness and beauty all his 
own. 
Then praise the Lord who came on 

Christmas day 
To give the Rose and take the thorns 
away. 



I cannot tell what thou wilt bring to me, 

strange New Year, 

But tho' thick darkness shrouds thy 
days and months, 

1 will not fear. 

Why should I fret my heart to know 
before 

What may befall ? 
With this one thought content — I ask 
no more — 

God knows it all. 



Again the festive season's here, 
With all that can delight and cheer ; 
Oh! may you nothing lack each day, 
But find fresh blessings strew your way. 



Take, my friend, this heartfelt greeting, 
Happy be thy Christmas day, 

Faith, and hope, and love here meeting, 
Speed thee on thy New Year's way! 



ALBUM VERSES. 127 

Sure, Christmas is a happy time 

In spite of wintry weather, 
For laugh, and song, and jest go round 

When dear friends meet together; 
And hearts are warm, and eyes beam 

bright 
In the ruddy glow of Christmas night! 



As Christmas offerings meet your eyes, 
Still closer be sweet friendship's ties. 



Oh joyous be your Chistmas-tide, 
And bright your New Year, too ; 

To you may love ne'er be denied ; 
May all your friends be true. 

Oh ! may thy Christmas happy be, 
And naught but joy appear, 

Is now the wish I send to thee, 
And all I love most dear. 



O bright be the day 

Sweet echoes resounding, 
Love lighting the way 

And warm hearts surrounding. 
May the breath of His peace 

In thy spirit remain, 
Till Christmas revisits 

The round world again ! 



' 



128 ALBUM VERSES. 

O childhood is a golden time, 

When all the world is bright, 
When sunshine comes with every morn, 

Sweet dreams with every night. 
Were I a fairy, I would give 

To thee a magic kiss, 
That should ensure for the New Year, 

As fair a time as this. 



A BAD BOY'S DIARY. 

This is the most humorous book ever issued from the Press. The 
One Hundreth Thousand 'has just been issued, and the demand for 
it is still increasing. One editor says of it: "It made us laugh till 
our sides ached and the tears came." Another says: "It will drive 
the blues out of a bag of indigo. It is worth a dollar, but costs only 
ten cents." One reader says of it: " I received the Bad Boy's Diary 
you sent me, and as most of my family are killed by laughing over 
it, you may send another copy, so I can dispose of the rest of them in 
the same happy manner." 

It contains 48 pages and is handsomely illustrated. Sent by mail 
on receipt of Ten Cents. 

DIARY OF A MINISTER'S WIFE. 

"It excels Mark Twain for genuine humor." 
This is one of the most humorous books of the present day, showing 
in a manner pleasing to all readers the trials, tribulations, expectations, 
and actual experiences of a " minister'swife " in a country parisn. 
The characters represented are true to life, and will doubtless bring 
to the mind of the reader remembrances of events and individuals 
within their own knowledge. It contains 64 pages, with handsome 
engraved cover. Price Ten Cents. 

"A BUSHEL OF FUN," 

gathered from the writings of authors of " A Bad Boy's Diary," 
Josh Billings, Detroit Free Press Man, Burlington Hawkeye Man, 
Max Adeler, and other funny men and women. 

This is, indeed, a whole bushel of funny things, well shaken down, 
and running over with fun and good humor. It contains 64 pages, and 
is hand somely illustrated. Price Ten Cents. 

IPI^The above books are for sale by Newsdealers and Booksellers. 
Either of them will be mailed on receipt of price by the Publishers, 

Address, J. S. OGIIiVIE & CO., Publishers 

31 Rose Street, New York, 



M 



